mcgovern



2 Sheets-Sheet; 1.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct. 23, 1888.

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Attorney.

WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. MOGOVERN.

FOLDING TRESTLE. 4

N0. 391,629. Patented 001;. 23, 1888.

INVENTOR;

7 WITNESSES: @WNS By .dtlprrwy.

UNITED STATES ATENT Trina,

THOMAS MCGOVERN, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING TRESTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,629, dated Octob r 28, 1888.

Application filed October 12, 1887. Serial No. 252,134. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MoGovERN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Trestles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of folding supports or trestles in which one pair of legs is pivoted to the other on a vertical axis, and provided with reciprocal devices on the two parts whereby they may be locked together in their two positions-namely, when folded together and when unfolded for use; and my oh ject is to provide the trestle with a simple locking device for the above purpose, that may be economically employed, and which will avoid weakening the parts by cutting gains therein, as has been commonly employed hitherto.

My invention will be fully and clearly described hereinafter, and its novel features carefully defined in the claims.

In the drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, I have shown it applied to a trestle such as those employed by undertakers. These are required to be light, strong, convenient for setting up, and capable of being packed away in a small compass for transportation and storage when not in use. Therefore I prefer to, and usually do, construct my trestle wholly of wood.

Figure 1 represents the trestle folded up. Fig. 2 represents it as unfolded, and Fig. 3 represents it in plan when set up for use. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the disengagement of the locking device or devices when the trestle is being prepared for setting up. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detached detail views that will be hereinafter described.

A represents the top bar of the trestle, and B B the outer pair of legs secured rigidly thereto. These legs are connected by rigid tie-bars G and D.

E E are the legs forming the inner pair, and F is the crown-piece connecting them. These legs and the crown-piece may, if desired, be formed integrally of one piece of bent wood.

In the crown-piece F is fixed the pivot G. (Seen detached in Fig. 6.) This pivot or pivotpin has a cylindrical body, a, and a square or polygonal neck, I), where it is secured in the crown-piece F. It may also have a head, 0, as shown. The cylindrical body a of the pivotpin has hearings in the bars 0 and D, and its upper end also has or may have a bearing in a socket in the top bar, A, as shown.

The squared neck I) on the pivot-pin is long enough to project through and extend above the crown-piece F, say, about half an inch, and when the crown-piece is pressed up into contact with the lower face of the bar D this projecting squared portion of the neck Z) enters a squared socket, d, in bar D, and serves as a lock to prevent the two parts of the trestle from turning on their common pivotal axis. In Fig. 5 I have shown the under side of the bar D and the squared socket d therein. In addition to or in lieu of this squared neck I) and squared socket d, I employ two pins, e a, mounted in the crown-piece F, and projecting upward therefrom, say, about half an inch, (more or less,) and in the lower face of the tiebar D, I form four pin-sockets, g g. (Seen best in Fig. 5.) The pins 0 0 may be made to engage one pair of these sockets when the trestle is folded flat, as seen in Fig. 1, and the other pair of sockets when the trestle is set up, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 1 shows the trestle folded flat, as I have said, and when so folded the square neck on the pivot-pin will be in engagement with the square socket in bar D and the pins 6 in engagement with one pair of pin-sockets g. I usually mount on the top of bar D a simple bolt, the end of which, while the parts are in this position, engages a socket, n, in pivotpin G, and prevents the inner pair of legs from dropping down and disengaging the locking devices. To expand and set up the trestle, it

will be necessary to draw back the bolt h (if it be employed) and then draw down the legs E until the pins 6 and square 6 are disengaged from their sockets in bar D, asseen in Fig. 5. The extent of movement is limited by some simple stop device-for example, a collar, 'i pinned fast or otherwise secured to pivot-pin G at the proper distance above bar '0. The legs E are drawn down or allowed to fall'down until the collar 1' strikes or rests on bar O,when they are rotated a quarter-way round and the trestle set up on its feet. The weight of the main portion or outer member of the trestle will press bar D down until it rests on crownpieoe F, the square 12 and pins 0 entering their sockets. The portion of the square 12 that enters the socket din the bar may be slightly beveled, as seen in Fig. 7, so as to form a truncated pyramid. This will allow it to enter the socket more freely.

It is not necessary to employ the tie-bar 0, nor is it necessary to set the pins 0 in crownpiece F. The pins may be in the bar D and the sockets g in the crown-piece.

It will be seen that the pivot-pin G is fixed in crown-piece F and moves longitudinally with the legs E and plays in the bar D, and that when the parts are locked by the locking device, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the feet or bottom ends of the legs B and E are on the same level. When unlocked, as in Fig. 4, the feet oflegs E extend below the feet oflegs 13. These are the characteristic features of my invention, and this construction enables me to avoid the use of a loose or sliding locking-pin which would require to be manipulated independently in folding or setting up the trestle. It will be seen, also, that my trestle is composed of two members-namely, the outer member comprising the top bar, A, the outer legs, B B, and the tie bar or bars, and the inner member comprising the inner legs, E E, and their connecting crown-piece F. The elements of each member are secured rigidly together and one member turns on the other about the axis of the pivot-pin G, which is fixed in one or the other of the two members, and they may move toward and from each other for a limited distance on said pivot-pin as a guide in order to effect the looking and unlocking. When folded, the trestle has only the thickness of a single member, as one member folds within the other.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The'combination, with the outer member of the trestle provided with a square socket, d, a bearing for the pivot-pin, and a bolt, h, of the inner member, and the pivot-pin G, fixed in said inner member, and provided with a square, I), to engage socket d, and a socket -to receive the bolt h when the members are locked, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the outer member of the trestle provided with a square socket,

d, a bearing for the pivot-pin, and sockets for THOMAS MOGOVERN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, J. L. CAPLINGER. 

